Saturday, October 29, 2011

I am just as happy to spend a long weekend from work and be able to update my blog. How long has it been? My last post was on April, barely seven months ago. I am still thankful that I still have the PR 2 ranking. Here is the tale. It’s quite long.

How I feel

I couldn’t hide my longing for blogging. I always feel my yearning for writing every time I visit this spot. Everyday, I always have access to the internet at the office. That’s straight, 9 hours or more a day. But I only can pay my blog a visit, got no time for posting or should I say, I just can’t make time for it? I missed everything about the whole process, writing, sharing, reading and most of all, gaining knowledge from other’s experiences and even making new friends. I have met a few and that’s another story to be posted.

What made me busy

I have been praying to have a job when I was a bum, a common wish of everyone unemployed. I wanted to get more out of my life than just staying at home and looking after my small computer shop. And here I am, the wish was granted. I am robotic with my wake-up-at-6 and be-at-the-office-before-8:30 schedule. The grass is always greener at the other side of the fence. Employees struggle to save up and have a business of their own. While on the other hand, some business owners, tired of being at home, would like to experience sturdy office hours.I had a great change of heart this year. It started when I was hired last May. I am working for a travel agency. I liked the idea of working on weekdays and stapled day off on weekdays, not too much of a hassle compared when I have pursued my career of being an HRM graduate. If I worked at the hotel, my schedule would be worse especially on holidays. This was what I was looking for, a desk job.

The Dilemma

I am contented during my first two months. It’s been a continuous learning until my third. I had my formal training then for Galileo reservation system. I will be having my sixth month this November. The thing is, I feel unfulfilled. My colleagues are great. They are in high spirits even there are problems we encounter from time to time. The pay is bearable considering that I’m on entry level. Everything seems to be okay, except me. The bad thing about it is I am anxious of committing mistakes. A single, minor mistake is equivalent to an ADM (agency debit memo). It is informal invoice from a supplier showing an additional amount due. It can be caused by wrong ticketing or under quote. And mind you, it is bill in US dollars. My officemates who had been in the industry for years still commit errors. It can be as small as $5.00 but can be as big as $6900.00. Sky is the limit, if bad luck is on your side. Whether we like it or not, we are required to pay them.

Recently, my officemate has been charged USD 700. She admitted it was an honest mistake. The passengers she should have booked to a certain flight, surprisingly, wasn’t guaranteed a seat an hour before the departure. Payment was made by the passengers but was not enough to cover for the fare difference so, she needs to pay for it. How long would they be able to compensate for it? The thought of having an ADM made me fretful, really. Practically speaking, we are all working to earn, not the other way around. It seems unfair though. But this is the reality that I live up to everyday. The salary is barely worth the stress and responsibilities our job, as ticketing agents, entails. I overheard that our supervisor’s compensation is more or less USD 410 a month. He’s been working for more than 30 years. And yet, what he receives is not tantamount to how much it should have been considering his years of experience. How ironic it is. We can be billed possibly high ADMs for a minute inaccuracy but, we get extremely less than we could have deserved.

The Resolution

I remember my friend saying, “Stop complaining, just do something about it.” I drew optimism from that. There is still a reason to be grateful. At least, I have a job. I do not loathe it. I know everything has its pros and cons. Sometimes, obstacles are opportunities in disguise. I can not discern it yet for now. All I can do is be keen to details and be attentive for every task I am given to do. I still have plans and it would not just banish away just because of my negativity. I have high hopes for what I am into and that would keep me contented for now.

1 comments on "Happy Weekend!"

Hi Riel. It's great to have you back. So you had a job na pala kaya di nakapag-update. Thanks for sharing.

Tama ka. You're just starting out and there's still a lot more to learn out there. Take everything as a challenge. Don't back out just yet. You still have a lot to prove especially to yourself. One day, you'll say: "Kaya ko pala!"